Where You Lead
by Miss Peg
Summary: After 6 months travelling the world, Naomi and Emily are back in Bristol with a surprise from Naomi that may just make the next 6 months just as exciting / Naomily, one-shot


Author Note: My motivation has wavered a little this weekend, doesn't help with it being Easter (aka family things going on). I went to a little town in Yorkshire called Hebden Bridge with the 'rents and there I found the inspiration for this one-shot. Please review!

Disclaimer: I don't own Skins, now pass me the I Heart Libby Masters tissues.

**Where You Lead**

'I have a surprise.'

Emily reached out to Naomi's hand; taking it, allowing Naomi to pull her along the main road. The sun shone above them and the spring temperatures made little difference to the suitability of their attire. They sat on the top deck of the bus, their fingers intertwined as they travelled to their destination.

'What kind of surprise?' Emily asked, raising an eyebrow, her curiosity no longer allowing her to contain it.

'You'll see.'

The journey was long and silent until Naomi stood up, pressed the button to signal their stop and the two girls traipsed down the stairwell. When the bus stopped they alighted, the empty street only barely recognisable to Naomi. She smiled at Emily's confusion, pulling her along until a small path at the side came into view. They carried on walking until Naomi stopped at the bottom, staring out across a stretch of water.

'A river?' Emily asked, her confusion not masked in her voice.

'It's not a river Ems,' Naomi rolled her eyes. 'It's a canal.'

'A canal?' she repeated in the same confused tone.

Naomi rolled her eyes again, holding her hand out to what was sitting in the water. 'Not the canal, the narrowboat'

'What about the boat?'

'It's ours.'

'Ours?'

Analysing Emily's expression, it was difficult to tell what she felt about it. In the end Naomi just shook her head, reaching out and stepping onto the boat.

'Yes. My grandma died.'

'Oh,' the sympathy made Naomi sigh. 'Naomi…'

'It's okay,' she interrupted. 'She was old. It was her time.'

The boat rocked beneath Naomi's feet. She rested a hand on the metal pole on the walkway. The look on Emily's face left nothing to be desired. _Not impressed, _Naomi decided, until the rosy red lips she knew better than her own curled up at the edges. She reached out a hand, which Naomi took, holding her steady as she jumped onto the boat beside her.

'So this canal boat?'

'Its actually called a narrowboat.'

'She left you a narrowboat?' Emily double checked, attempting to right herself on the wobbly vessel.

'Yes. What do you say?'

'What do I say to what?'

The confusion didn't want to end. Naomi rolled her eyes and turned to face her girlfriend. Her hands were clammy, she rubbed them together and took a couple of deep breaths. She was nervous, more nervous than she'd ever been with Emily and considering everything they'd been through, that was really saying something. She scratched her neck, her gaze lowered to the duck floating on the water behind the red head.

'Moving in,' she whispered.

'Moving in where?'

Naomi scoffed, closing her eyes in the hope of avoiding her sarcastic eye roll. 'Are you really this blonde on the inside because I always thought you were red all the way through.'

'Actually I'm a brunette,' Emily muttered, raising an eyebrow.

'You are?'

'Always have been, but I choose to be red.'

The revelation brought a smile to her face, it was fascinating, if a little disappointing, that she still didn't know everything about the girl she loved. She longed to be a genius in all things Emily, yet hated the thought of never learning anything new ever again.

'Why did I never know that about you?'

'I don't know,' Emily sighed, running a hand along the top of the boat. 'You want us to live on a canal boat?'

'Narrowboat.'

'Semantics,' said Emily, lowering herself until she was perched on the edge of the boat. 'We've just got back from six months travelling, why would we want to spend the next six months on a boat?'

'Because it'll be fun.'

'Are they even that good?'

'Course they are,' Naomi assured her, a little disheartened by Emily's lack of excitement.

Her brown eyes stared up at her and for a split second, Naomi pictured herself pushing her off the boat. She didn't. Instead she watched Emily's mouth move, listened to the soft sound of her words. 'Have you ever lived on one before?'

'Well, no,' she responded. 'Not full time, but we spent two weeks during almost every summer holiday on the one before my gran upgraded to this one.'

'There's ones that look worse than this?' Emily chuckled, a curious, wary grin spreading across her face. 'Are you sure it floats?'

'It's exciting Emily,' she goaded, wishing for the desired response to finally arrive.

Emily shrugged. 'I'm not so sure.'

She'd tried everything she could think of, nothing was working. Naomi considered her options, contemplated the possible line of thinking she hadn't really wanted to go down. 'Do you want to go back to living at home with _your _mother and a teenage boy who has finally hit puberty with full force?'

Those rosy red lips curled upwards in thought, the curve of her lips capturing Naomi's attention until her mind drifted off into the gutted. She shook her head and listened to Emily's response. 'James was pretty bad before, I guess I don't want to go back there. But I assumed we'd move back into the yellow house.'

'Come on Ems. We lived, quite happily, in huts in Goa for a month and you don't want to live on a boat?'

'Firstly,' Emily pointed out. 'Huts don't move. Secondly, the weather was a lot better. But okay, I made us live in a hut, I guess we can give this boat thing a go.'

'Thank you.'

Kneeling down on the wooden floor, resting her hands against Emily's knees, Naomi reached forwards and pressed her lips against Emily's until a brief appreciative kiss turned into a little bit more. She wrapped her arms around the back of Emily's shoulders, their tongues moving together in perfect harmony.

*

'How exactly is this going to work?' Emily asked, lifting a bottle of beer up to her mouth.

'What do you mean?'

'Canal boats move,' she pointed out, making Naomi frown. 'Do we travel the country on this thing?'

Uncrossing her legs on top of the roof, Naomi stretched them out and leant back onto her hands. She stared up at the sky, hoped the less than white cloud above them would stay waterless before looking back at Emily with a huge smile.

'No, course we don't. We have a mooring, gran paid for it 'til two thousand and twelve, so we're okay for a while.'

'What exactly is a mooring?'

'This,' Naomi held out her hands. 'We get to keep the boat here, we can move it if we want, go on trips. But we can live in this spot for as long as we want. Well, until the lease is up.'

They stared at each other until Emily looked away, picking the leaves off a dead plant in a flowerbox. Naomi watched her actions, tried to figure out what Emily wasn't saying verbally. She realised how hopeless she was at interpreting Emily's body language.

'What's on your mind?'

Emily didn't even look up, she continued to pick at the plant. 'Needs some TLC.'

'I'm sure you can make it look nice,' Naomi mumbled, greeting a man who passed them in his own narrowboat. 'Suggest any improvements you want to make, I want you to make this yours too Ems. It's _ours_, remember.'

'I've got a suggestion.'

The enthusiasm in Emily's voice made Naomi sit up and listen. She couldn't contain her happiness at Emily's interest. It was a thought she'd only had a couple of days ago, the possibility of them living together on the boat. She didn't expect it to be a problem, had always thought that Emily would follow her anywhere just like she would follow Emily.

The smile she knew so well grew cheeky and Naomi contemplated the possibilities. 'How about we sink it and move into a flat?'

'Fuck off,' she snapped, standing up and walking along the roof of the boat to the other end. Disappointment filling every morsel of her mind. She listened to Emily climbing up onto the roof behind her, obviously sensing how angry she'd become.

'Calm down Naomi, it was a fucking joke.'

'Yeah,' she muttered, continuing until she reached the other end. 'Well it's not a fucking joke to me. I'm serious about this Emily, I want us to live together, _here_.'

'What's got into you?' Emily snapped, not stopping until she'd joined Naomi on the walkway off the other end of the boat.

'Nothing's got into me Emily, you're the one making a joke out of this.'

'I was just making this day fun,' she shrugged.

'No, you were shitting all over my idea.'

'Naomi.'

The amount of frustration building up inside Naomi's mind made it impossible to look at Emily. She shook her head and climbed back onto the boat, silently walking away from her girlfriend. She unlatched the door, walked down the steps and rushed along the inside of the boat until she found the bedroom. She opened the door and dropped onto the bed, gathering the covers up around her face, pushing her wet eyes into the fabric.

*

Tiny footsteps coming closer made Naomi look up from her cocoon. She sniffled, wiped her eyes and turned to find Emily staring at her with wide eyes and a contemplative expression. Naomi straightened out the bedcovers, propping up a couple of pillows and sitting up against them.

'I'm sorry.'

Naomi didn't feel much like answering, so she stayed silent.

'What do I have to do to make this up to you?'

'Take this whole thing fucking seriously,' Naomi stated, staring up at Emily.

'I am.'

'You weren't.'

'I am now, it was a surprise, I didn't expect this. Forgive me for not jumping for joy the moment you suggested it,' Emily crawled across the bed, resting on her elbow beside Naomi's arm. 'It's pretty cosy in here.'

'See,' Naomi muttered. 'You hadn't even been inside and you were judging this. It's like a house, except it's smaller and uses less electricity.'

Emily's lips curled up at the edges. 'Perfect home for you then, all environmentally friendly.'

The brown of Emily's eyes made Naomi think of chocolate, she remembered once comparing them to Emily and getting laughed at. It made her smile. She reached a hand out to Emily's cheek and stroked the skin beneath her eye. Emily shifted on the bed until she was sat up beside her.

'I hate fighting Naomi, I'd live in a cardboard box on the worst housing estate in Bristol if it meant I could live with you.'

'You mean that?' she checked, chewing on her lip.

'Of course I mean it, I wouldn't say it if I didn't. You, me, this boat house, when can we move in?'

Naomi tilted her head to the side, letting her eyelids flutter a little in Emily's direction. She stared at her with her most seductive expression until Emily reached out her hands and their mouths were moving together.

'Place needs christening,' Naomi mumbled into a kiss.

'Thought you didn't believe in God?'

Naomi laughed, 'Semantics.'

Running her hands around the edges of Emily's back, she pulled her closer, slipping down the bed until Emily was lay on top of her. She moved her fingers under the lining of Emily's t-shirt until the tips met her bra. Their lips continued to move together, their clothes gradually being removed. Naomi ran kisses along Emily's shoulders, down her stomach and along the soft, pale skin of her thighs. Emily's hands wrapped around strands of her hair, tugging gently as Naomi's tongue retraced steps it had been many times before. She moved her kisses to Emily's mouth, replaced her fingers and brought their passion to a height that left them panting for breath. Eventually they curled up together under the duvet, Emily's head resting on her chest.

'If this is what living on a boat will be like, I don't ever want to live in a house again.'


End file.
